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Hey there 700 club, help me get from 690 to 720 in 6 weeks:) [#permalink]
16 Aug 2011, 17:00

Alright, a month and a half has passed since I tackled the GMAT for the first time. After speaking with admissions reps and consultants I've come to the realization that I must tackle the beast once more since many Investment Banks ask for GMAT scores and I'm a tad low in the overall and in quant.

I'd like to begin Studying Sept 1st and plan to take the GMAT again in mid October. Please be kind and help me develope a solid study plan

I will have ample time as I will be back to only working 45 hours per week and will have nothing else on my slate other than writing essays (which I can prolong to the round 2 consortium deadline in January if need be) so I have 6 weeks to go all out!

- I have the full slate of MGMAT books and Official guides- I have exhausted the MGMAT tests and don't want to retake them- I haven't touched the GMATCLUB tests or any tests other than MGMAT and GMATPREP- I got extremely lucky on Verbal last time so I do still need to mix in at least a little verbal prep as well but obviously my main focus is quant.

Re: Hey there 700 club, help me get from 690 to 720 in 6 weeks:) [#permalink]
16 Aug 2011, 19:25

krishp84 wrote:

ok - Do you mind sharing your educational background ?

Not at all, I'm a 3.24 GPA Finance Major from Cal Poly Pomona, native speaker, 25 years old and graduated in 08' so I'm 3-4 years removed from any formal classes. At work I deal with Ratios and Statistics but nothing too quant heavy. I took a MGMAT class from March through June and it took me from a 610 q:44 v:31 (first MGMAT) to a 700 q:47 v:38 (last GMATPREP) only to score a 690 q:44 v:40 on my first RealGmat. Ever since I took my GMAT (July 1st) I haven't even looked at a problem, much less cracked open a book.

Re: Hey there 700 club, help me get from 690 to 720 in 6 weeks:) [#permalink]
16 Aug 2011, 20:21

If you'd like some verbal strategy and example problems, take a look at my debrief in the link below. I outline some of the tactics I employ and the resources I used to help me develop them - and somehow they worked out because I ended up with a perfect 51V (admittedly a miracle).

Re: Hey there 700 club, help me get from 690 to 720 in 6 weeks:) [#permalink]
16 Aug 2011, 20:40

First - Your verbal score is good. That is really good for you - Try to increase that because a jump of 1 point in Verbal will result in a higher increase in percentile than an equivalent jump in Quantitative score.

Second - For Quantitative, review all the basic concepts from MGMAT since you have already taken the classes. Next prioritize the topics that are asked most frequently asked AND in which you commit mistakes most frequently. example - may be DS questions in Number theory, etc.

Next - Create the list of Weak areas. Start with the weakness and check it off one-by-one.

Fourth - Write down your strengths in paper/electronic form. Try to solve 1 or 2 really tough areas in your strong areas. The purpose is to find any weakness in your strong areas and eliminate them.

Re: Hey there 700 club, help me get from 690 to 720 in 6 weeks:) [#permalink]
16 Aug 2011, 20:46

Expert's post

mixedin86 wrote:

krishp84 wrote:

ok - Do you mind sharing your educational background ?

Not at all, I'm a 3.24 GPA Finance Major from Cal Poly Pomona, native speaker, 25 years old and graduated in 08' so I'm 3-4 years removed from any formal classes. At work I deal with Ratios and Statistics but nothing too quant heavy. I took a MGMAT class from March through June and it took me from a 610 q:44 v:31 (first MGMAT) to a 700 q:47 v:38 (last GMATPREP) only to score a 690 q:44 v:40 on my first RealGmat. Ever since I took my GMAT (July 1st) I haven't even looked at a problem, much less cracked open a book.

Suggestions?

Your Verbal score is quite decent. You can push it up a notch but the focus should be Quant since it will not be too tough to push it up to 48 (so your plan looks good). A 44 in Quant means that you have your basics in place. Now you need to improve by trying out a variety of questions which test your application of these concepts. Pick out some other standard prep test material and solve all the questions in their books. That will give you a different perspective and lots of practice. How comfortable are you with DS questions? Do you have a strategy in place for those? Get to know the most common traps that these questions lay. Do you spend a lot of time writing out equations and solving them? If you do, that could leave you with little time to think when facing a higher level question. Try and get comfortable with alternative approaches e.g. using Ratios to solve TSD, Work problems, knowing % fraction equivalents and using them to solve questions quickly, knowing how to deal with mods diagrammatically etc. Put in some good amount of effort and you can easily bump up to 48 or even higher. _________________

Re: Hey there 700 club, help me get from 690 to 720 in 6 weeks:) [#permalink]
17 Aug 2011, 03:36

mixedin86 wrote:

Alright, a month and a half has passed since I tackled the GMAT for the first time. After speaking with admissions reps and consultants I've come to the realization that I must tackle the beast once more since many Investment Banks ask for GMAT scores and I'm a tad low in the overall and in quant.

I'd like to begin Studying Sept 1st and plan to take the GMAT again in mid October. Please be kind and help me develope a solid study plan

I will have ample time as I will be back to only working 45 hours per week and will have nothing else on my slate other than writing essays (which I can prolong to the round 2 consortium deadline in January if need be) so I have 6 weeks to go all out!

- I have the full slate of MGMAT books and Official guides- I have exhausted the MGMAT tests and don't want to retake them- I haven't touched the GMATCLUB tests or any tests other than MGMAT and GMATPREP- I got extremely lucky on Verbal last time so I do still need to mix in at least a little verbal prep as well but obviously my main focus is quant.

How do you suggust I study?

What would you do?

I'm aiming for a q:48 and a 710-720 overall.

Any input is much appriciated!

Thanks!

Hi there

Firstly we would say that stay positive and such anxieties are common during exam preparation time. Juggling between work and studies is tough so you need to define a significant time for your GMAT preparation. Sometimes taking few days off work for preparing for the GMAT can help a person tremendously. If you have time this may not be a bad idea. Take practise GMAT tests to see how you are doing. If you cannot do that don’t worry. What might work instead is to set aside 1-2 hours at night on weekdays and major part of your weekend to study and prepare for GMAT- in this case we will suggest a good 2-3 months preparation. However we recommend you to keep taking practise tests to gauge your performance. It will help you in identifying your weak areas and you can focus on them accordingly. You might be able to study more than the given hours and that would take you less than 2-3 months. It all depends on your potential really.

There are various ways you can use to practise for your GMAT. You might need to change your practise style and try this combination to provide you flexibility and different styles to practise so it doesn’t get monotonous.

It could be combination of-

1-Books- Books like- The Official Guide for GMAT Review, The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review etc could be used.